Super League 2016 preview: Part 1

Super League’s 21st season is about to get underway as champions Leeds host Warrington on Thursday evening, and isn’t it good to have it rugby league back?

The league’s new structure is now a year old, meaning there’s no excuses this time around for teams not being fully prepared for what’s ahead, so here’s hoping for the same entertainment we had along the way to the Grand Final in October.

Magic Weekend is making a return to Newcastle after a very successful event, and with an increased salary cap for the Championship sides, we could be set for the most memorable season yet.

Here is our club-by-club preview for the upcoming Super League season.

There were questions at the start of last season as to whether Castleford would suffer from second season syndrome under Daryl Powell, but those were swiftly answered with a resounding no following a commendable 5th place finish. In the end, Castleford probably considered themselves unlucky not to make the top four in 2015, and that is testament to Powell and his staff as to the brilliant job they are doing at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.

The luxury Castleford have for 2016, that they haven’t had in previous years, is that they have managed to keep hold of the majority of their star players and a major rebuild wasn’t necessary this off-season. Luke Gale, a surprise omission to some from the England tests against New Zealand, will be looking to prove a point to Steve McNamara as to why he should have been selected, and that can only be good news for Castleford.

Life after Justin Carney may be difficult at first given the winger’s strike record, but the Tigers have recruited well in the form of Joel Monaghan as his replacement, and that makes them well positioned to be one of the team’s fighting it out to make the top four spots in 2016.

It was a relatively underwhelming season for the Dragons in 2015, with a seventh place finish and an exit from the Challenge Cup to finalists Hull KR capping off a year to forget.

In the end, halfbacks Scott Dureau and Todd Carney were never on the field enough for the French side, and it showed with very inconsistent form. When you couple that with their usual sloppy away form, it ultimately resulted in the club never really being in the fight for the top four places.

There has been a lot of change in playing personnel at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, with the likes of Zeb Taia, Scott Dureau and Elliot Whitehead all departing for Australia. So a lot of Catalans’ chances in 2016 will rely on the new signings, that include Richie Myler and Pat Richards, gelling quickly on the field. If that does happen, and they can improve their results on the road, there’s no reason why the Dragons can’t trouble the teams above them in 2016.

If you would have predicted how Huddersfield’s 2015 season was going to pan out, it would have been close to how it occurred in real life. With the Giants’ now established as a regular play-off side, many people thought they could take that final step to reaching their first Grand Final in 2015.

But in typical Huddersfield fashion, they showed great form and potential throughout the season, but as soon as the big pressure games came around, such as Leeds in the Challenge Cup, and Wigan in the play-offs, they folded quite easily.

Paul Anderson has seen that and recruited Ryan Hinchcliffe and Sam Rapira in the hope of toughening up the Giants in 2016. Huddersfield have the quality in the likes of Danny Brough to make an assault on Old Trafford, whether they have the mindset for it this time around is the bigger question. The loss of Brett Ferres to Leeds is a definite blow.

Hull FC’s season petered out once it had reached the Super 8 stage and they had beaten city rivals Hull KR to that final top flight spot. With no real chance of making the top four, the Airlie Birds finished the season in 8th despite early season optimism.

Like most seasons, FC made a number of high profile signings in 2015 the hope of getting back towards the top of the table, but that ascend has not materialized yet. They have strengthened again in the off-season, with Frank Pritchard and Scott Taylor being the picks of the bunch, in an attempt to push Hull FC’s forwards to rank alongside Super League’s best.

Whilst home-grown product Tom Lineham has departed for pastures new, it leaves the door open for the likes of of Fetuli Talanoa and Mahe Fonua to step forward. Despite this, it’s difficult to picture this side challenging just yet, so another season of battling to make the eight may be the path for Hull FC in 2016.

Hull KR surprised most people in rugby league by reaching the Challenge Cup final in 2015, overcoming Wigan and Warrington on their run to Wembley. The Challenge Cup sojurn had a negative effect on their league form as they fell into the Middle 8’s, albeit coming through it comfortably in the end.

But Rovers will want to ensure they are in the top eight this time around at the time of the split, and they have every chance of doing that. There are no wholesale changes for Chris Chester in 2016 like the season before, and that could stand them in good stead. They have recruited well in the form of Iain Thornley and Chris Clarkson, both Grand Final winners, and you wouldn’t bet against Hull KR making a charge on the top eight.

The all-important factor is whether they can get playmaker Terry Campese regularly on the field. The veteran Australian showed glimpses of quality before spending much of 2015 out injured, leaving Albert Kelly to run things, albeit superbly from halfback. But if Rovers can get both fit and firing at the KC Lightstream Stadium, Chris Chester might have a team that upset a few sides this season.

It was the perfect way for three rugby league stalwarts in Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai to bow out at Old Trafford with a treble, but the question on everyone’s lips is now, how will they fare without them?

You can replace those three with players of similar ability, but the experience, the knowledge and the presence are characteristics that cannot be replicated, and it’ll take a great effort from Leeds to come close to the levels they reached last season.